


On Yggdrasil and That Thing Called Consent

by StarlightSystem



Series: Transcendence AU [8]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - Transcendence (Gravity Falls), Consent Issues, Drugs, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:48:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25749883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarlightSystem/pseuds/StarlightSystem
Summary: Mabel’s first thought upon seeing Dipper pop into the room stoned out of his mind wasoh my starsthis was the cutest thing she’deverseen, he looked just like a fancy kitty cat with his pointy ears and claws, this was exactly what she needed after such a long day and she had to take amillion pictures for her scrapbook.Her second thought was one of horror -- the realization that someone had done this to him, and that he hadn’t wanted it.
Series: Transcendence AU [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1372192
Comments: 14
Kudos: 85
Collections: TAU Discord Recs





	On Yggdrasil and That Thing Called Consent

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in the [Transcendence AU](https://transcendence-au.tumblr.com/)! Thanks to the incredible [ToothPasteCanyon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DannyFenton123/pseuds/ToothPasteCanyon) for beta reading this ✨
> 
> Content warnings: this fic talks about being drugged, which is inherently non-consensual. There are also implications of date rape and past sexual assault, but there is no explicit sexual content.

A soft _plib_ announced the arrival of a demon in the Mystery Shack.

Mabel, her small frame half swallowed by the armchair, didn’t look up from her knitting. “That was a long summons, Dippingsauce. What, did ya get lost on the way back?”

No response.

“I dunno what kinda deal you got,” she continued, focusing on the gentle clink-clink-clink her needles made as they bumped together, “but if you’re hungry there’s leftovers from dinner in the fridge. Half a chicken. There might be glue on it though. Iiiiit’s a long story but I sorta had to break up a fight between some customers at the Shack today and things got wild.”

She was only answered by the pitter-patter of rain outside.

“Oh, and Grunkle Stan’s gone for the weekend. He said something came up and that it’s ‘definitely not a prison heist’ and ‘don’t tell your brother because his anxiety will set off the magic detectors from a mile away’. So the evening news will probably be fun tomorrow!”

Finally, she got some sort of response. But it wasn’t the chuckle she expected, nor was it any kind of human language. It was a dainty little _mew_.

What she saw when she looked up was strange to say the least. Dipper was lying on his back in the middle of the room, arms and legs propped up, shivering slightly. Dipper Pines, the dark and powerful demon, Devourer of Souls and Lord of Nightmares, was just lying there, gnawing on the brim of his top hat. A full grown man in a suit, batting at invisible things in the air and meowing.

It was all Mabel could do not to let out an earth-shaking squeal of delight because

_oh_

_my_

_stars_

this was the cutest thing she’d _ever_ seen, he looked just like a fancy kitty cat with his pointy ears and claws, this was exactly what she needed after such a long day and she had to take a _million pictures for her scrapbook_.

She practically tossed her knitting aside in her rush to get a closer look at her brother. His eyes were completely blown, full of a shimmering gold and none of the quiet, familiar darkness. They flicked in her direction, and he relaxed visibly once he got a look at her. He opened his mouth, dropping the hat, and a big smile spread across his face -- a perfect mirror of the one on hers. She took a deep inhale through her nose, and -- yep. She recognized that scent.

> _< “Hey bro-bro!” Mabel chirped, walking into the living room and seeing her brother on the armchair, fiddling with something._
> 
> _He eeped at her approach, shoving his hands -- and whatever he was holding -- between his wings. “Mabel! Don’t sneak up on a guy like that!”_
> 
> _She looked down at her rainbow pride flag sweater, jangly bracelets, and combat boots with light-up soles that clomped and strobed with every step. “Wow, you must be really bad at being a demon if this counts as sneaking up. Whatcha got there?”_
> 
> _“Nothing! It’s- it’s nothing.” His expression wobbled. “You’d think it’s dumb.”_
> 
> _Mabel very pointedly glanced at her outfit again. “Probably not, but you should try me anyway!”_
> 
> _He studied her face for a minute, and then sighed. “Alright.” He held out his hand, which was holding a clump of some strange plant. It caught the light and shimmered as if it was a diamond. It had little leaves like a clover, but it twisted in on its own stem in a way that was confusing to look at. It seemed to grow and to recede and to do nothing all at once._
> 
> _“I found it when I was exploring in the woods,” he continued. “It’s called -” >_

Yggdrasil root.

Or -- as she liked to call it whenever she saw her brother use it -- Dipnip.

He let out a playful chirp and floated over. He wrapped his arms around his sister’s shoulders and started licking her hair, leaving strands of demon spit that sizzled on her scalp -- though she knew from past experience that it wouldn’t actually hurt her. Instead, her spirits lifted higher and higher with each stroking motion of his tongue.

> < _”Yggdrasil has been around since forever,” Dipper explained, standing up, “but it’s only since the Transcendence that there was enough magic around that people noticed it. At first scientists thought it was just an annoying garden weed, and, uh… they weren’t exactly wrong?”_
> 
> _“Bro. You’re not making any sense.”_
> 
> _The look on his face told her that it was killing him to have to put it into words. “Okay, uh, so the first time I found some, I kind of set it on fire because I thought it was poison ivy.” He cupped his other hand over the plant and brought it to his chest. “But then I breathed in some of the smoke by accident and uh… it made me feel really good?”_
> 
> _“Good like you got out of going to the dentist or like someone left gum stuck under the table at your part time job or like -”_
> 
> _“Like drugs, Mabel! Like I got high!” >_

The grooming abruptly stopped. There was a jolt, and the ground fell away beneath her.

Dipper floated into the air with his mouth clamped onto the scruff of Mabel’s sweater. He flew her across the room and she could barely get a word out through her gleeful giggles.

“I’m the queen of the Mystery Shack!” she announced from the top of the room. “No one can stop me! Teamed up with Demonlord Snuggledreams, we will rule the world!”

Her brother growled, though it was hard to tell with his mouth full of sweater. He floated her down again, doing a few loop-de-loops as he did, and settled her in the corner. He patted her on the head with something of a condescending air, then trotted across the room, returning a moment later with a stuffed rat balanced on his nose.

“Aww, thanks!” She gave the rat a little kiss on the nose. “Did you catch this yourself? Very impressive!”

He yowled, seemingly displeased with how she was treating his present. Shrugging, she pretended to bite the rat’s head off, and the yowling stopped.

“Hey, bro-bro! Look what I’ve got!” She fumbled for the cabinet behind her and he perked up, poking his tongue out from closed lips. The cabinet finally opened and she withdrew from it something she’d stashed there in case of emergencies like this one. A dark object of mysterious origins and cursed intent. A long rod, with a string at one end attached to a bell.

> < _The puppies and horses running around inside Mabel’s brain went into overdrive. “You WHAT?” she yelled, so loudly that it knocked him over. “Dipper’s doing drugs? Mr. I’m-Afraid-To-Ride-The-Bus himself? That’s awesome, bro-bro! Didn’t know you had it in ya!”_
> 
> _“All I said was that the bus is covered in germs and that I wouldn’t mind tessering you around so you don’t need to use it,” he grumbled from the floor. “And I’ve only gotten high once, on accident, so -”_
> 
> _Mabel at once had him by the hands and was practically dancing with him. “And you were thinking about trying it again? Aaaaaaaaa I thought this day would never come! What’s it like? Can we try it together? Dipper I’m_ so stressed from college _I just wanna relax tonight!”_
> 
> _He scowled. “I’m not saying anything else unless you put me down!”_
> 
> _Begrudgingly, she obliged._
> 
> _“Thank you,” he said, dusting himself off and very obviously Not Looking At Her. “And- okay, I was sort of thinking about trying it again. But it doesn’t work on humans. And it makes me act… kind of weird.”_
> 
> _“Aww, that’s bogus.” Mabel watched him produce the clump-of-whatever again, watched how he kept bringing it tantalizingly close to his face just to shove it away again. “Well, you should still try it! I’m always saying you should have more fun. Tell me, Mr. Dreambender, what could it possibly do to you that you’d consider ‘weird’?”_
> 
> _“Uh… promise you won’t make fun of me?”_
> 
> _“I can offer you the standard sibling teasing package! I get to poke fun at you but I’ll stop immediately if it makes you feel bad. Deal?”_
> 
> _Dipper chuckled, finally. “I’m not shaking on that, but sure. Okay uh…” He took a deep breath, still avoiding her eyes, and swallowed. “This stuff sort of… makes me act like a housecat?”_ >

Mabel jangled the cat toy in front of her, and Dipper’s entire demeanor changed. Stars in his eyes, he reared up onto his legs and started swiping at the toy with clawed hands, letting out a gleeful meow each time he managed to hit it. She jerked the toy back and he pounced, taking it in his mouth and shaking it around until Mabel had to let go of the rod.

He lay there, huddled on the floor, gnawing on the toy, his coattails swishing briskly side to side just like the tail of a happy kitty cat, and Mabel felt like her head was going to explode. She reached into her sweater and pulled out her phone. It was time. She had to take photos for her scrapbook. She _needed_ to take photos.

> < _This time, the impact of Mabel’s screams of excitement did not knock Dipper over because she was too busy throwing herself at him and doing it herself. “What?! Are you telling me that Dippy-cat is real??”_
> 
> _“What did I just say?” he spat in his daze. Little chirping birds walked in a circle above his head._
> 
> _Mabel rolled off the side of him and flailed around on the floor. “Dipperrrrrr! That sounds awesome! You gotta show me. I need pictures for my scrapbook! I gotta see my bro-bro get totally blasted, bruhhhhhhhhh-”_
> 
> _His face crumpled. “Mabel.”_ >

She couldn't.

> < _”There’s no way I can have fun with this if I’m just going to be worried about you taking pictures of me without me knowing.”_ >

Mabel deflated, and set her phone on the shelf.

> < _”Okay, bro-bro. I promise. And… I’ll calm down too. Sorry I got so excited.”_ >

A promise was a promise. If it was going to make him really uncomfortable, she didn’t want to do it.

Even if he was being illegally cute.

...

Okay, the next time he got high she’d have to ask him if there were any circumstances and rules under which it’d be okay for her to take some photos because he was now nomming on his bowtie while rolling around on the floor and squeaking and it was _killing_ her that she’d have to rely on her memory in order to treasure this moment forever.

He giggled at the pout on her face, although it came out as more of a chirrup, and that brought her smile back.

And not a moment later, it fell again.

Now that she was thinking about it, she couldn’t remember him telling her he was going to get high that day. He _always_ told her in advance, just like she always told him before she had Smile Dip.

The toy dropped out of his mouth, and he started pawing at her face again, meowing and rubbing his head into her neck. It should’ve been jaw-droppingly precious, but something about it seemed wrong.

Because she was also sure he’d been at a summons all day. He’d mumbled something about raw beef when they were watching TV in the morning before disappearing, and she hadn’t seen a single twinkle of demony magic again until he showed up meowing.

“Mraow?”

No, he definitely hadn’t said anything to her about Dipnip that morning. Which meant that getting high wasn’t part of his plan for the day.

“Rrrr...”

So maybe he’d wandered into a magical greenhouse while it was getting burned to the ground by arsonists. It was possible that this was all just an accident.

“ _Khhhh_!”

But it wasn’t. She knew it wasn’t and it hit her like a stabbing pain in the gut. Something must’ve happened after he got summoned. He stared up at her, face blank and docile, and any lingering fun she was having evaporated.

> < _Dipper climbed back into the armchair and wrapped his wings around his front. He didn’t say anything more in response to her apology, and the silence began to stretch into awkwardness._
> 
> _”Uh. Anyway.” Mabel thrummed her feet on the carpet. “This is still big news though! I had no idea you liked acting like a kitty cat so much that you’d take drugs to make it happen!”_
> 
> _“Th-that’s not- that’s not why I liked it!” he spluttered, face turning scarlet. “It’s- it’s just a side effect! And I think it’s unique to me, or at least all of the preters I’ve seen in my omniscience have had a very different reaction to it.”_
> 
> _Mabel climbed onto the back of the armchair and splayed out, resting her head on Dipper’s top hat. “Oh. Yeah?”_
> 
> _He tilted his head all the way back and Mabel winced, imagining the snapping sound his spine would make if he was human. “Yeah. It makes preters lose their inhibitions for a while. Every case I know about has ended up with claws out and blood spilled.”_
> 
> _“Wow. That’s… that sounds really bad.” Mabel attempted a smile, but Dipper’s black, pupil-less gaze started to feel like a palpable pressure on her mind. “But not you?”_
> 
> _“No. Not me.” He took out the clump again and held it in the light, which it seemed to pull into itself and grow a little larger. “But it did make it hard for me to think. Like, really hard. I don’t know if human drugs do that or not, but it’s kind of why I liked it, to be honest.”_
> 
> _”Ooh yeah, okay!” Mabel shot him a pair of uneasy finger guns. “I love not thinking! I do it all the time.”_
> 
> _Dipper did not pick up on her vibe. Instead, his voice went flat, echoing slightly in the shadow being cast on him by the Yggdrasil sucking up the light. “It’s not just my thoughts. It’s other people’s feelings. It’s instincts and gut reactions I got from Bill. It’s almost limitless knowledge being crammed into my head on a regular basis. It͈̟̲̯̪̝̹’̰̥͍͚͖̙͞s̗̞̙ ͕͙̻̪ͅs̡̯̝̭o̤͖̪̫̠͇ ̝̯̱̣̘m̺̗̤u̱͈c̥̦͍͈ͅh̡̗̥̪̫̼̘ ̖͓̩̗̮ą̗͚͉̞̬̹̮n̮̜̬̮͉͢d̖̪̠ ̼̺̼̞̥͈i̵̦͕̪̹̤̞t҉̝̟’̭̟̹̯̯s̜͓͚̬͍ ̸̣̟̻a͍̦̞̥̗̩̻ḷ͇̮̘w̶ay͈̗͚̬͓ͅs̕ a̝̗͟l̙͈͇̞͔͍̰wa̘̮̫̕y̖̲s͔̺͙͘_ ̮̫ạ̰͖̱͚͍ḻ̴̺͇͖̞̙̭wa͈͉̭̬̲̖̯y̭̜̫̰͝s̞̥̥͉̹̦̤ _͓̤̩̲̼̲͙o̯͙͝ṇ͕̼̠͚̘͝,̮̼͉ ̴a̛͈͍̳̱͓̭̜n̶͔d̨ ͓͇̙̯͓͝I͍-”_
> 
> _“Bro. It’s okay. You don’t gotta justify it to me.”_
> 
> _He blinked at the sound of Mabel’s voice. Dropped the hand holding up the clump of Yggdrasil. Right away, the room was its regular brightness again. Dipper got a funny look on his face, looked down -- finally relieving his neck from that awful angle -- and coughed._
> 
> _“Anyway, that’s why I liked it,” he muttered. “I just wanna be able to let go for a little while. Stop thinking.”_ >

Mabel shuddered. That was it. Whoever just summoned Dipper must’ve been burning Yggdrasil -- that’s how he got high. And they did it because they knew what it would do to him. Knew how it affected preters and how to take advantage of it. They did it because they wanted something from him and didn’t want his thoughts to get in the way.

She felt disgusted at the idea of it, like she was shoulders-deep in a pool of twisted, poisonous intent. She knew from experience what being treated like that was like.

“Oh no,” she whispered as she watched her brother gnaw on the cat toy. “Oh no Dipper, I’m so sorry.”

_Lick lick lick_.

A little louder. “If you need to talk about it, I’m here.”

_Lick lick lick_.

“Bro-bro? Hello?”

Mabel furrowed her brow in worry -- and promptly got bapped in the face.

“Dipper!” she squeaked, scandalized. “What’d you do that for?”

Dipper stared at his hand, then at her with big eyes void of understanding. He bapped her again, softer this time, but it somehow hurt even more. A low whine escaped his lips, and the stink of Yggdrasil root worsened to the point of making her eyes water. Whoever did this to him must’ve used a _lot_ of the stuff because he didn’t even seem to be comprehending what she was saying. Usually he at least indicated that he’d heard her, even if he wasn’t able to respond like a person. She’d never seen him this far gone before. He wasn’t going to be able to talk this over with her yet. All he wanted to do was play around.

Which was all fine and dandy in her book haha because she’d much rather play games than talk about stressful consent stuff and if he was fine at the moment then she was too definitely definitely for sure!

Mabel forced a wobbly smile on her face, but Dipper just whined louder. Time to change the subject, quick.

“Hey, bro-bro! Let’s relax!” Mabel tried to take him into her arms, and he swiped at her. A sharp claw flicked through her sweater, barely missing her skin. She stared at the rip, and then up at her brother, who was sitting bolt upright a few feet away with a scared look on his face.

Shit.

Mabel got on her knees and opened her arms. “I’m sorry, Dipper,” she said softly. “I won’t pick you up without asking. Want to go over to the sofa?”

It felt so bad. It felt _so_ bad to infantilize him like that. The twins weren’t kids anymore; they were very capable adults despite the silly hijinx they frequently got up to. Mabel knew he would hate to be babied in this way, knew he might remember when he sobered up how she treated him, but she didn’t have any choice. He was hurt.

And it wasn’t his fault. What happened to him could happen to anyone.

Sort of. Not really.

But something _similar_ to what happened to him could happen to anyone and that little tidbit rang furiously in Mabel’s mind like something she was trying to forget and kept getting dragged up.

Dipper eyed his sister suspiciously, falling onto all fours and hissing. Mabel took a deep breath and stayed put. Tried to stay still, to stay nonthreatening.

Tried not to think about the fact that her own brother was afraid of her.

After a minute, some sort of recognition seemed to spark in the demon. Dipper took a cautious step forward. And then another. A few more, all the while not taking his eyes off her. He let her take him into her arms, and she smiled.

Mabel got up and carried him over to the armchair, stroking his hair and walking as slowly as she could. When she sat down, she let him wrap his arms around her neck. “Hugs are nice!” she cooed. “Nice and safe and warm. Everything’s alright here in the Mystery Shack!”

His legs were kicking in the air. One of his dress shoes went flying off.

“You know where I wanna go?” she continued in a singsong voice as her mind filled to the brim with screaming. “A beach! Beaches are so fun. I wanna build a sandcastle. We could build the funnest sandcastle ever and get lost in it. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

The kicking stopped, and Dipper started to nuzzle into her neck.

“Mmm yeah. You, me, and Grunkle Stan. And Wendy and Candy and Grenda and Soos and Melody. Maybe Gideon if he’s being cool. Probably Pacifica, if her parents will let her. All of our friends.”

The demon on Mabel’s lap purred.

The edges of her lips twitched up at the little squeaks he made when she scratched his head. She murmured and breathed and tried not to picture -

_(A circle of hooded figures in a cold room; a room filled up with a musky odor; a demon in a circle trembling before falling to the floor; the figures approaching and chanting their twisted demands and offering barely anything in return because they know he isn’t conscious enough to screw them over -)_

Mabel gasped; felt her chest heave and her lungs constrict. Bad thought bad thought _very bad thought_.

Dipper’s head perked up, bumping Mabel’s jaw. Her expression strained, she grabbed automatically for her knitting and pulled a needle out. She’d very likely drop most of the stitches, but she could just start over later. It didn’t matter as much. She presented the needle to Dipper, who pondered it for a moment and then closed his mouth onto it.

The immediate problem solved, she clenched her fists and tried to stop the coming onslaught of thoughts.

_(A clearing in the woods, gnomes and pixies and dryads all hidden away in their homes, no binding circle, hateful grins far worse than that of the summoned beast, no deal, only thick pungent smoke and a gentle nudge on the shoulder to send a killing machine to tear through the wretched filth born of the Transcendence -)_

Mabel picked up the ball of yarn she’d been using and offered it to Dipper. His eyes grew wide and he let out a big chirrup, the knitting needle falling out of his mouth as he did so. He grabbed the string and tore into it with his teeth, kicking the other end with his feet, squeaking playfully as the ball unravelled more and more, delighting in his prey.

It was sweet. It was also weird, but Mabel had seen her brother tear into human flesh before, so playing with a string was nothing to blink at. He seemed so happy.

She should be happy too. Ordinarily she loved playing around with Dippy-cat. But she didn’t love this. Couldn’t.

_(A woman in a transparent nightgown gesturing at him in a dark, candlelit room; blowing smoke in his face before lunging at him; keeping him in a tight embrace until the struggling slows down and his eyes fill up with gold; letting go so she can try to undo his shirt; giggling as if it’s a game when her touch on his chest makes him scamper into the corner of the room to hide -)_

Mabel pulled some of the leftover chicken from the fridge and popped it in the microwave. Dipper seemed delighted to have a meal -- he scarfed it down in just one bite.

Gave her a toothy, grimy grin to show his appreciation since he didn’t have any words.

_(A dark bedroom, messy covers, choked sobbing, and it was_ her _this time, it was her trying to hide in the corner, wincing at the bruises on her arms, frantically trying to scratch her brother’s summoning circle into the linoleum before the man in the other room came back -)_

Mabel was yanked out of her flashback by something wet on her forehead. She zoned back into the room and got an eyeful of bowtie. Dipper was crouched over her, rubbing his head lovingly into hers, having just given her a slimy demon kiss on the noggin.

There were tears in the corners of her eyes, and they weren’t from him.

She forced herself to start petting him again, adding in some scratches between his wings which immediately pacified him. He purred, loud and happy, rolling around in her lap and licking her neck. It was awkward given how much taller he was than her, but she did her best to hold on.

_(A scab splitting open from Mabel’s thumb onto the makeshift summoning circle and her nails dig into her palms because Dipper’s not answering, and she can’t even begin to wonder what could be holding him up because there’s a sound from behind the door and she’s out of time -)_

Mabel held his hat just out of reach and he squealed with joy, pouncing from all fours at her again and again to try to claim the prize. Each time he got close, she tossed the hat up so he just barely missed it. The game of keepaway might not ever have ended if Dipper hadn’t eventually figured out that he could fly. With one fell swoop on outstretched wings he grabbed the hat and landed snugly in his sister’s lap.

_(Still her, still Mabel squeezing herself into the tiny gap beneath the bed just as the door slams open, as the room fills with shouting, as the blood on the circle begins to bubble and pop and she hopes it means he’s coming because now there’s a hand around her ankle, pulling her from safety and pulling a terrified scream from the depths of her soul -)_

Dipper’s purrs started to get a little quieter each time Mabel ran her hand through his hair. His mouth stretched wider than it should be able to go in a tender yawn before he closed his eyes and ceased making noise. His tongue was poked halfway out of his mouth again. Little Z’s were winking in and out of existence above his head to indicate that he was finally, finally asleep, without a single worry in his head.

Mabel dearly wished she could join him.

* * *

“Ugh, my head…”

“Dipper?” Mabel, who'd been teetering on the edge of sleep, sprang to attention. “You're finally awake?”

Dipper groaned and pressed his palms to his eyes. “Yeah I guess. I feel awful though.”

“Dipper.” She pulled him upright, and he slowly opened his eyes, giving her an inky black glare that only had the littlest bit of gold in it.

“Okay. I'm awake. What do you want?”

It was time. It was finally time to get some answers and suddenly Mabel found she couldn’t do it. The Dipnip had worn off -- he could handle talking about it now. But she wasn’t sure _she_ could. Staying up to the wee hours of the morning entrenched in worry had exhausted her. It was too hard.

“Mabes?” Dipper yawned drearily and smacked his lips. “Why’d you wake me up?”

He stretched and in her mind’s eye she saw him sprawled on the floor again, meowing and swiping at dust particles and licking her hand and -

Mabel set her jaw. “Do you remember your last summons?”

“My last- yeah?” He studied her, slightly put off by her uncharacteristic careful gaze. “Well, okay, I remember that they offered me a biiig cow. I'm talking massive, like seriously I didn't even know they made cows that big, and fuck, I could smell the blood all the way through the Mindscape. It smelled s̜̻̰̮͚͠ọ̗ ̹͕̮̤͔͟go̭̩̖̙̬͡o̪̬̙̤̬̙̜d̪͔͞ I couldn't resist answering them even though we were watching Kitchen Night Terrors, and -”

He took a moment to wipe a strand of gold drool from his mouth, then cleared his throat. “Uh. Anyway. The building looked really weird and it was in some country I’d never heard of before. The first thing I noticed was the smell. They were using cinnamon toast scented candles, which you would think would smell nice but _no_ , ugh. It wasn’t just the candles though, they were burning -”

Dipper’s eyes went wide and he trailed off. His mouth flapped open and shut wordlessly as Mabel continued to stare at him. Then he tipped forward, clutching his head in his hands.

“Oh no,” he moaned. “Oh nooooo. They got me. They were burning- they tried to- to- oh no Mabes when I got back was I -?”

“Acting like a cat?” Mabel sidled up beside him and gave him a half-hug. “Yeah. I'm sorry.”

“No!” He crumpled further under her comforting embrace. “This is so embarrassing. Ughhhhhh.”

Surprised, Mabel let go of him. “It's what?”

“E͉m̹̕b̜͚̫̺͙a̸̰͇̘̻̰r̭̭͔r̨̯̼̣̭̰̪̱a̗̫͚͖̰͜ͅş̞̹s҉̱̜i̠n̠͈̯̺g̝̖, Mabel -- it's plain mortifying!” He collapsed onto his back again without her to support him. “I don't want anyone to see me like that! How's anyone going to take me seriously if they think I'm no scarier than a housecat? Oh stars the pro-nats already think I'm some kind of animal, and now -”

“Hold on one second!”

Flustered, Dipper sprang to his feet and turned on her, fire in his eyes, snarling at the interruption. The look on Mabel’s face, however, immediately gave him pause. She was standing too, fists clenched and shaking, looking like a pot about to boil over -- one that kept stammering and stomping its foot with frustration when the words wouldn’t come.

“Why do you have to be the one who's embarrassed?” she finally managed to get out. “I mean- no, that's not it, I mean like- they're the ones who did this to you! They're the ones who should be ashamed of themselves!”

Dipper's mouth hung open in a way that would've been hilarious if it weren't for the circumstances. “Mabel, it's okay, I'm a demon, what do you expect, they're gonna respect me? No way. I'm used to it, I just wish it didn't make me act so embarrassing and stupid and -”

“No no no!” she cut in again. ”They have no right doing that to you! They don't get to make you like that!”

“Why are you so upset? I thought you loved seeing me on Yggdrasil?”

Mabel screwed her face up. “How am I supposed to enjoy Dippy-cat when all I can think about is how someone basically kidnapped you and drugged you!” Her shudders got more violent, and thick tears started rolling down her face. “I've been sitting here absolutely sick thinking about what they could've done to you, and it's not fair- it's not fair that they think they can just take advantage of you like that and that it's okay because you're a demon, just like people thought they could take advantage of me just because I'm a woman, and -”

Mabel's voice hitched; she could speak no more. There was a jolt, and she found herself suddenly wrapped in a tight hug. Dipper held onto her as her strangled ramble turned into full fledged sobbing and she held him back, arms trembling and weak.

“Oh no, Mabel,” he said when her sobs began to wind down. “I know that stuff from the past hurts and you’re not bad for being hurt by it but I just wanna remind you that the guy who... to you is gone. You’re safe.”

She sniffed. “I know. I know! I just can’t stop thinking about it.”

“I'm so sorry. I'm sorry you’ve been so stressed out about this. I was just thinking about myself and being embarrassed but I should've been thinking about how this must be affecting you. I'm sor-”

“Stop,” she breathed, picking her head up. “Stop being sorry. Stop apologizing for what happened to you. Stop apologizing for what _they_ did to you! You deserve better. You're a _person_ , Dipper, you're a person no matter what they think and you're the victim here. Please.” She pushed him away and stared at the carpet. “Please don't minimize how awful that is. That stresses me out way more than sitting around imagining scary scenarios.”

Dipper opened his mouth, raised his hand toward her, and stopped. They hung there as the gears in his head visibly ground together, trying to decide how he felt about her speech. Then he deflated, and fell cross-legged to the floor.

“Okay.” He took a deep breath. “It's bad that people drugged me without my consent so that they could use me.” He breathed in again, a little labored this time, and managed a small chuckle. “Yknow, it sounds so obviously bad when I say it like that.”

“That's ‘cause it is bad.” She sat down in front of him. “It's the worst. I can't stand the thought of people doing something like that to you so that you're completely defenseless. It's not okay. It'll never be okay.”

He gulped, his lip wobbling and voice starting to crack. ”No, you're right. You're… right.” He looked out the window, watched the last drops of rain hit the ground before the night was as silent as a morgue. “I don't like that it happened. I don't want it to happen again. I feel violated and gross.”

Dipper got a faraway look in his eyes, and for a moment, Mabel could see what the cultists saw.

The shadows in the room elongated, circling around something vaguely human-shaped floating perfectly still before her. The demon didn’t move, didn’t twitch the muscles in his arms, didn’t blink, didn’t breathe. He only did those things for show, and when he was too busy focusing on something else, they just… stopped.

( _because he was **fake**_ )

Not a person but a statue, a feature of the room, an inkstain on her retinas.

Not a person, because a person had feelings and boundaries that one might blink an eye at crossing, whereas no one had a problem with wrenching him away from his loved ones to treat him like dirt because he wasn’t a person he wasn’t real he was nothing _he was nothing he was -_

( _exhale_ )

He was Dipper.

Mabel put a hand on his shoulder, and beneath her touch she felt the tiny movement of blood rushing under skin.

“I'm sorry.”

“Thanks.” He put his hand over hers and sighed. “It’s bad enough that people can just make me show up wherever they want without asking, but I thought that I’d at least always be in control of the situation. I’m supposed to be strong enough that no one can hurt me, and if I get hurt anyway, then that means it’s my fault…”

The twitch of muscle under her hand became a little more violent than was reasonable for a human being. She squeezed his shoulder and nodded for him to continue.

“I don’t know. I know it’s not really my fault but not being in control of or even aware of my own actions is terrifying… I'm supposed to be safe from being taken advantage of again, but I'm not and it feels so bad. And if I can't even protect myself, how am I gonna protect you and Stan?”

“Well that one's easy. We’ll do it together.”

Dipper looked back at her and cocked his head. “Huh?”

Mabel stood up, brushing tears away from reddened and puffy cheeks, despair replaced with resolve. “Uh huh. You're not alone, bro-bro. We’ll protect each other. You’ve always been there for me when I’ve needed you.”

( _Light pours out of the summoning circle and an otherworldly voice booms out, distracting her attacker just long enough that Mabel can kick him in the groin -_ )

She shook her head. “Besides, I had a _long_ poopy day at the Shack yesterday and I’m itching to take it out on someone.”

“Mabes, you can’t fight them, are you kidding, if they could subdue a demon they can subdue a human too, that’s so dangerous -”

“Well that’s why I won’t be doing it alone, dummy!” She lightly smacked him with his top hat before setting it down a few inches above his head. “What do you say? You feeling up to a good ol’ cultbash?”

He hesitated, and she hurriedly added on, “ _only if you feel up to it though cause like your feelings on the matter are more important than mine right now and if this wouldn’t actually be good for you then we can obviously do something else it’s just i can’t let whoever did this get away with it i mean it sounds like they were up to no good anyway so -_ ”

“Mabel.”

She took a deep breath in. “Yeah?”

He embraced her again, _her brother_ , and he felt warm and alive and **real**.

“Let’s kick some butt.” He stretched his arms and wings, and then paused. “Are you sure you’re okay though? It seemed like this was a pretty bad trigger for you.”

“Honestly, I feel loads better now that we talked about it. And now that I know you’re okay.” She rubbed the ring Dipper had given her and pulled her trusty cultbashing bat out of thin air. “I’m totally gonna do some more crying later when we get home but right now I’m good. No one hurts my family and gets away with it. Ready when you are!”

He grinned, lopsided and doofy, and offered her a hand wreathed with blue flame. “Yknow, I’m pretty sure you’re more ruthless than I am. But that’s why we make such a good team.” His face darkened. “Hey, Mabes? On the way there, can I… talk about what happened?”

She took his hand, her grip firm and reassuring. “Totally. I’m here to listen. And to kick butt too -- that part is also important.”

Dipper snorted, but then his features turned soft. “Thanks. Well, uh, let’s do this I guess!”

He took a deep breath, squeezed his sister’s hand, and the two of them vanished.

> < _”I really have no idea why it happens. Yggdrasil’s supposed to make demons turn into mindless killing machines. Even regular demons hold back their instincts in order to make a better deal, and Yggdrasil just draws all of that horrible stuff into the open.”_
> 
> _“Well, duh it doesn’t do that to you!” Mabel bopped him on the head. “You’re a good guy. I told you, I said it soooo much, and now you have to believe it because the murder plant makes you act like a kitty cat.”_
> 
> _Dipper turned a little redder. “Okay… but still -”_
> 
> _“No buts! It doesn’t even matter why specifically it does this to you -- even though it’s_ definitely _because you’re a good guy. If you want some time to relax and not have to think, you should do it. I give it my Mabel Stamp of Happy Happy Fun Times Approval.”_
> 
> _”It’s fun,” he admitted. “It’s really fun. But... I don’t know. How do humans get high and not make total fools of themselves?”_
> 
> _“Oh, they make_ massive _fools of themselves,” Mabel replied. She watched him sink into the chair again and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “But hey. That’s what you need a buddy for.”_
> 
> _“A buddy?”_
> 
> _“Yeah! I mean, if you ever wanna Chill Out, I’ve got a bunch of Smile Dip that needs eating, you’ve got your gnarly demon catnip -- we can just hang out and look out for each other!”_
> 
> _Dipper picked his head up, the beginnings of a smile dancing on his face. “Really?”_
> 
> _“Totally! It’d be so much fun!” Mabel clapped her hands to her cheeks, which were straining to contain her grin. “Also we’d probably balance each other out. Smile Dip makes me go nuts but I can’t go screaming through the house painting rainbows everywhere if there’s an adorable kitty cat around! And you won’t get up to any embarrassing stuff without knowing it because I’ll be hugging you way too hard!”_
> 
> _He snorted. “That’s dumb. I can’t believe you still do Smile Dip. That stuff is poison.”_
> 
> _“So? It’s fun! It feels really nice.” She put her hands on her hips and trilled. “And I’m an adult, so I can decide to put poison in my body if I want to.”_
> 
> _Dipper looked at the clump of Yggdrasil root in his hand. “Yeah. I’m an adult, and I can decide to have ‘no thoughts, head empty’ cat time if I want to.” Smiling, he got out of his chair and gave his sister a hug. “Thanks Mabes. You’re the best.”_
> 
> _“I know, bro-bro. I know.” Mabel patted him on the back. “You’re the best too.”_ >


End file.
